Arnold Arboretum art show takes visitors on a trip to Sicily

In addition to exploring local flora, visitors to the Arnold Arboretum will also get to view flowers that bloom on the hills and meadows of Sicily.

Artist Susan Pettee and writer Mary Taylor Simeti’s new art show, “The Garlands of the Gods: Wild Flowers from the Greek Ruins of Sicily,” is on view at the Hunnewell Building lecture hall at 125 Arborway, through July 16.

Great Barrington resident Pettee and New York native Simeti, who now lives in Sicily, came together about 10 years ago and began working on the project.

“I knew Susan slightly (as a Radcliffe undergrad) but had no idea that she had become a botanical illustrator until she and her husband visited Sicily about 10 years ago and came to my farm for lunch,” said Simeti. “She was so exited by the flowers here and I was already working on the project, so she seemed like the answer to my prayers.”

Pettee said when she and her husband visited Sicily she was, “overwhelmed by (the) beauty and luxuriance of the Sicilian wildflowers. I mentioned to Mary … that I wanted to paint a lot of them and maybe make a portfolio of illustrations. Mary said she had started to write something about the flowers at archaeological sites but had stopped. She asked if I would be interested in illustrating such a book and I said yes. I love Mary's writing! So that is how it started.”

Simeti’s texts, which are on labels next to Pettee’s images, “are not scientific but revolve about the historical, mythological and literary references associated with each plant,” she said. They hope to turn the show into a book at some point.

Pettee uses graphite and watercolor for her illustrations. She attended art schools on and off while raising a family and did a certificate program at the British Society of Botanical Artists.

“What drew me to Sicilian flora was their exuberance and brilliance and how they carpeted the hills and meadows,” said Pettee. “As a New Englander I am used to wildflowers that are much more restrained and harder to find.”

Simeti said on her farm she is “surrounded by an amazing abundance of wildflowers almost all year long.”

Another component of the show is to show the impact of climate change on the gorgeous flowers.

“I can see them blooming earlier each year and can feel the impact of climate change on our crops as well, as temperatures rise and rainfall becomes more and more erratic,” said Semiti.

“These flowers, like plants all over the world, are reacting to climate change and to other damage to their environment,” said Pettee. “The times of year when things bloom have been changing, so that flowers appear both earlier and later and sometimes in the autumn when they should bloom in the spring. Another important thing is that the use of herbicides has had a devastating effect on wildflowers.”

Semeti said she hopes visitors are “inspired to travel and see the wildflowers for themselves” after the show.

More information

For more information on the Arnold Arboretum’s art show, visit https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/.

For more information on Susan Pettee, visit susanpetteebotanicals.com.

Mary Taylor Simeti is currently working on a website. She has written a number of books about Sicily, the best known being “On Persephone’s Island.”